Mind-Expanding Reads for Daily Life

This article reviews five essential psychology books that simplify complex theories into practical advice for daily life. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman explores cognitive biases and decision-making processes. Carol Dweck’s “Growth Mindset” emphasizes the power of effort over innate ability. “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman highlights the importance of understanding and managing emotions. Angela Duckworth’s “Grit” focuses on resilience and perseverance. Finally, “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi delves into achieving optimal experiences. Each book, authored by experts, offers actionable insights to enhance personal and professional life. 5 applied psychology books for everyday life - Big Think.

Awe

Lori Santos covered the eight types of awe in her podcast The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos: The Power of Awe. Well worth a listen whether you are religious or not.

Gaslight, Camera, Action

Gaslighting, a manipulative tactic that makes victims question their reality, can profoundly affect mental health, leading to anxiety and depression. When confronted with gaslighting, experts recommend seven strategies to regain control and assert your truth. These include calmly stating your perspective, setting boundaries, validating your feelings, documenting events, suggesting neutral third-party mediation, using humor to defuse tension, and focusing on solutions rather than memory debates. These techniques aim to disrupt the manipulator’s control and provide clarity, helping you maintain your sense of reality and well-being. 7 Things to Say When Someone Gaslights You.

Unraveling Chronic Illness Misdiagnoses

Chronic illness symptoms are frequently dismissed as mere stress, complicating diagnosis and treatment. Amina AlTai, initially attributing her fatigue and brain fog to work-related stress, faced repeated dismissal from doctors despite worsening symptoms like hair loss and gastrointestinal issues. It wasn’t until thorough blood tests that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and celiac disease, severe autoimmune conditions. This case underscores the complex interplay between stress and chronic illness, highlighting the need for careful evaluation to distinguish between stress-related symptoms and underlying medical conditions. Why Chronic Illness Symptoms are Commonly Dismissed as Just Stress - The New York Times (gift article).

Weight Loss Woes

States like West Virginia are grappling with the high costs of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Despite their effectiveness, with some patients losing 15-20% of their weight, the prohibitive costs, reaching up to $1,400 a month, make them inaccessible for many. Canceling public funding programs exacerbates the disparity between those who can afford these medications and those who cannot. Critics argue that the situation mirrors past pharmaceutical crises, underscoring a broader issue of healthcare inequality in treating obesity, a condition classified as a complex disease. Some States Say They Can’t Afford Ozempic and Other Weight Loss Drugs - The New York Times (gift article).

Time for a Pill

MIT researchers have discovered that the effectiveness of medications depends significantly on the time of day they are taken due to circadian variations in liver function. Using engineered mini-livers, the study identified over 300 liver genes with circadian patterns, affecting drug metabolism and inflammation. These findings suggest that drug regimens could be optimized to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity. For instance, Tylenol’s breakdown is more efficient at specific times, and the liver’s susceptibility to infections like malaria varies with the circadian cycle. This research opens new avenues for tailoring drug administration schedules. Drugs are more effective at certain times of day | MIT Technology Review.

The Fish Oil Debate

The article explores the ongoing debate about the efficacy of fish oil supplements for heart health. Despite early enthusiasm sparked by Inuit dietary studies, recent research reveals mixed results. Some studies suggest omega-3s reduce coronary events, but many trials show no significant cardiovascular benefits. Additionally, fish oil supplements may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. Experts recommend obtaining omega-3s from dietary fish rather than supplements, emphasizing a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle for heart health. The article underscores the importance of relying on well-rounded dietary practices rather than supplements for optimal cardiovascular well-being. Is Fish Oil Helpful or Harmful for the Heart? - The New York Times (gift article).

Reclaim Your Work-Life Balance

In an era of remote work and constant connectivity, achieving work-life balance has become increasingly challenging. The article outlines five tech-based strategies to prevent work from encroaching on personal time. These include setting and communicating boundaries, scheduling messages during work hours, minimizing notifications, filling calendars with buffer times, and establishing emergency contact plans. By leveraging the same technology that blurs the line between work and personal life, individuals can regain control and ensure their jobs stay within the confines of a typical workday. How to get back your work-life balance with tech - The Washington Post (gift article).

AI: The Write Stuff

A recent study reveals that over 10% of scientific papers are co-authored by large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, with fields like computer science showing even higher usage. Researchers from the University of Tübingen and Northwestern University utilized an excess-vocabulary method to identify unusual word frequencies in scientific abstracts. This method bypasses traditional detection algorithms, revealing the widespread integration of AI in academic writing. While LLMs enhance drafting efficiency, especially for non-native English speakers, their use raises concerns about biases, hallucinations, and the potential flood of low-quality publications. Academic policies on LLM usage remain inconsistent and evolving. At least 10% of research may already be co-authored by AI.

Loneliness

Loneliness is a significant problem among older adults. For many, feelings of isolation were amplified by the pandemic. Feelings of loneliness impart risks to immunity, cognition, and general health. I read the article, Mindfulness Training Appears To Improve an Immune Function Marker in Lonely Older Adults The critical question was whether MBSR stimulated production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a measure of the immune system's responsiveness in older, lonely adults (as measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale). The authors found that MBSR significantly increased IL-6 production in response to challenge, improving responsiveness. The authors pointed out these are only early mechanistic findings-it is unclear whether the results would translate into meaningful health outcomes. An interesting study, nonetheless.

Gut Mucus and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Fugitive gut bacteria can disrupt our immune system. Here's how we can capture them is an intriguing synopsis of the study, The systemic anti-microbiota IgG repertoire can identify gut bacteria that translocate across gut barrier surfaces. The study looked at the activation of the immune system by bacteria that cross the gut barrier into circulation. The study reinforced the importance of maintaining a healthy mucus layer in your gut through food choices and the avoidance of emulsifiers (both in food and soaps). Here is an article that touches on the concept A New Theory of Obesity.. I will write something else on emulsifiers soon.

Facing Covid with a Compromised Immune System

The excellent opinion piece, How to Plan for the Future When COVID Isn't Going Away, written by an immunocompromised author, resonated with me.

The Doctor will Zoom you Now

An interesting opinion piece by a physician telemedicine convert: How I Came Around on Telemedicine. The article touches on the many benefits of remote visits, including some unexpected ones. The report also discusses some of the challenges for telemedicine moving forward.

Mad Honey Redux

Two weeks ago, I learned about Mad Honey for the first time. This week, The Washington Post published a story about a Turkish bear that got so stoned on Mad Honey-he had to be rescued. Here is the story (with a video): Meet Balkiz, a bear cub in Turkey who got high on hallucinogenic honey

Plant-Based "Meat"

I read the article Taste alone won't persuade Americans to swap beef for plant-based burgers and had a pretty strong reaction. The piece focused solely on messaging to improve plant-based meat consumption. Isn't the most essential question "what's best for our bodies?" Although plant-based meats may be better for the environment, the jury is still out on whether these highly processed foods are better for our health: Plant-based Meat versus Beef

Psychedelic Capitalism

As a follow-up to my newsletter a few weeks ago, here is an interesting podcast on the rapidly developing market for psychedelics: The corporatization of psychedelics-audio. or transcript

+More on the psychedelic renaissance. Psychedelics and mental health: What to know.

Fish Oil and Endocannabinoids

I read the article, Fish Oil Is Good! No, Bad! No, Good! No, Wait, that focuses on the drug Vascepa. Vascepa was approved after a published study demonstrated that, among high-risk adults already receiving another type of cholesterol-lowering treatment, the drug decreased the risk of heart failure and other serious cardiovascular events by an eye-popping 25 percent. A recent manuscript, Effects of Randomized Treatment With Icosapent Ethyl and a Mineral Oil Comparator on Interleukin-1β, Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, Homocysteine, Lipoprotein(a), and Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2: A REDUCE-IT Biomarker Substudy calls into question the findings of the original study and raises suspicion it was not the fish oil that made subjects better. Instead, it was the placebo that made control subjects worse. The article is anti-fish oil, but I wouldn't give up on fish oil just yet. Most people don't realize fish oil is a building block for endogenous cannabinoids, the substances your body makes that bind to the same receptors as marijuana. Cannabinoid receptors are everywhere in your body, and we are just beginning to understand what they do. The fact that the receptors are so prevalent tells me they have essential roles to play in physiology. I've touched on some emerging science: Why does running give you a high? A look at the science If you'd like to learn more about the biochemistry: Emerging Class of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Endocannabinoids & Their Derivatives

Medical Gaslighting

A common experience in medicine is having one's concerns dismissed by a provider, often referred to as medical gaslighting. Medical practitioners often quickly ignore symptoms and diseases they don't fully understand. The article, How to Spot 'Medical Gaslighting' and What to Do About It, discusses how to identify these behaviors by medical professionals and how to overcome them.

Love, not Lies

Another great article in the Atlantic's How to Build a Life Series. The latest, Disagreement Can Be an Act of Love, is about the lies we tell ourselves and each other. One of my favorite lines in the article, "Some lies might make life easier, but they don't necessarily make life happier._"

Hyperbarics and Long Covid

An intriguing synopsis of a small study out of Israel, Is Oxygen the Answer to Long Covid?, shows hyperbaric oxygen treatment improves the symptoms of Long Covid. The authors opine on potential mechanisms but do not mention the microbiome. A hyperoxic environment would kill many anaerobic bacteria that typically thrive in the oxygen-poor environment of the gut. The alteration of the gut microbiome through hyperoxic exposure is definitely worth considering.

Daydreaming

I've always enjoyed daydreaming, but not everyone does. Why Daydreaming Is Actually Good For Your Brain is an interesting article on the phenomenon of positive and negative daydreaming. The report includes tips on making your daydreams more positive, productive, and creative.

Are Small Amounts of Alcohol Beneficial to Your Health?

Michael Greger tackles the questions of alcohol use and reverse causation in: Is It Better to Drink Little Alcohol Than None? Do Any Benefits of Alcohol Outweigh the Risks?

Quote of the Week

"You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free." ― Thich Nhat Hanh